GWI expands access to affordable drinking water with Port Mourant refilling station

– residents welcome 5-gallon refills at $100

Residents of Port Mourant and surrounding communities in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) will now enjoy safe, affordable drinking water as Guyana Water Incorporated (GWI) commissions its newest Water Bottle Refilling Station.
The facility was officially opened on Friday, and members of the public received free five-gallon water refills throughout the day. However, from Saturday, refills will cost $100 per five-gallon container-something that residents welcomed.
“Normally, I would buy three bottles of water for the week at $260 for one. So, here it’s only $100, so I’m saving some money there, which is good,” Hazel Fraser, an elderly resident, stated. Like Fraser, other residents also welcomed this opportunity to save on water purchases, praising the Government for introducing the refill station. In fact, one person appreciated the convenience of being able to drive up to the refill stands. Another resident, Neil Pike, said, “People don’t have to go out [on the public road] to buy water. So, it will be really efficient for the community… and with the price, I think everyone will come here.”
The Port Mourant Water Bottle Refilling Station is the second such facility opened by GWI this year, as part of an ongoing initiative to improve access to clean, safe, and affordable water for all citizens. Back in April, the rehabilitated Pouderoyen Bottle Refilling Station in Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) was commissioned.

According to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of GWI Shaik Baksh during Friday’s commissioning at Port Mourant, refill stations would be established in every region across Guyana. “We’ve already completed about 10 of those stations. They’re not commissioned as yet. We’ve commissioned the first one at Pouderoyen in Region Three. And we’re hoping that the population here, residents here at Port Mourant and Rose Hall, will make use of the affordable water here. Because we are going to sell a five -gallon bottle for $100,” Baksh stated. The GWI Head explained this is one of the initiatives that the agency is undertaking to deliver safe and affordable water to Guyanese. The other major project is the GWI-operated $496.3 million water bottling facility that is slated to be established at Parfait Harmonie in Region Three. “We would be selling at affordable prices bottled water to the population as a whole,” Baksh asserted.
Dismissing concerns by private sector representatives and local manufacturers, Baksh defended the move of GWI getting involved in the water bottling business through both the refill stations and the planned bottling plant, saying there is value for consumers. “Apart from these refill stations, the bottled water would be very, very competitive for the population. And this is the role of Government: to provide services at affordable rates to the people of Guyana… The bottled water itself, we would ensure it’s affordable-much lower than what you pay now,” the GWI boss argued. Moreover, Baksh went on to reject concerns that these initiatives will distract GWI from achieving its core objectives. Currently, access to potable water has reached more than 98 per cent over the last five years.

In fact, he pointed out that the agency has seen significant progress in its goals to deliver better quality water to the people. For instance, access to treated water has moved from 35 per cent to now 77 per cent on the coastland. “We have some way to go to ensure that we provide treated water, and by next year, we’re hoping to achieve in excess of 95 per cent of treated water in this country,” Baksh stated. But even with this progress, the GWI Head recognised that there are some communities that still complain about the quality of water being supplied. Those areas, he explained, are still being served directly from artisan wells rather than receiving water through treatment plants. Over the last three years, at least eight new water treatment plants were established across the country to enhance water quality for consumers, with three other facilities currently under construction. “We’re getting there. So, we’re asking for the patience of the population. The Government recognises the need for clean, treated water and GWI has been and will be delivering on that mandate with challenges, of course, and we need more time to complete the objective of providing over 90 per cent of treated water,” Baksh declared. Meanwhile, in addition to Pouderoyen and Port Mourant, water refill stations are slated to be established in areas such as Lima (Region Two), Vergenoegen and Wales (Region Three), Grove and Caledonia (Region Four – East Bank), Mon Repos and Bachelor’s Adventure (Region Four – East Coast), Vlissengen Road and Mandela Avenue (Region Four – Georgetown), Cotton Tree in Region Five, Sheet Anchor and Queenstown (Region Six), Central Bartica (Region Seven), and Amelia’s Ward in Region 10.